


The Tenth Commandment

by holls



Series: Unexpecting [3]
Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Angst, Jealousy, Kid Fic, M/M, Postpartum Depression, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-30
Updated: 2011-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-28 11:56:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/307640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holls/pseuds/holls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scotty's returned to work after the birth of his son, and McCoy is happy to help out with Pavel and the baby, but for selfish reasons. 'Unexpecting' verse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tenth Commandment

"Pasha, I'm so, so sorry..." Scotty said into his comm with a soft sigh. "Believe me, the last thing I want to do is be here when I could be with you."

"I...I understand..." Pavel replied, trying to speak evenly past the lump in his throat. He knew there was logically no reason to be upset, Scotty would be home, just not in the next few hours. He was running some diagnostics, nothing dangerous, nothing that would get him hurt, or killed.

"Pasha, I swear, I'll be back as soon as I can, and God help anyone that slows this down. You know I want to be there with you and Robbie, and I will be the very second I can get away," Scotty said gently. He knew Pavel was upset, everything had been upsetting him for the past few days, but Scotty wasn't about to complain about it. He'd just had their son, their perfect, beautiful Robbie, and the fallout of emotion was just inevitable.

"I know..." Pavel whispered, keeping his answers short, praying his voice didn't crack.

"I love you both so very much, and I'm going to get back to work right now so I can get done. You get some rest, and call someone to help you if you can," Scotty said. "Don't be alone if you don't think you want to be, someone's got to be off duty."

"Okay," Pavel said, wiping his eyes. "I...I love you too..."

With that, his voice cracked and Scotty felt worse than he thought possible. He never thought the day would come when he didn't want to go to work, but with a five day old son waiting for him in his quarters, he could easily decide where he would rather be.

"I'll have my comm nearby if you need me, call me for anything, give Robbie a kiss for me," Scotty said, a lump rising in his own throat. "I'll be home soon..."

And if any junior engineers prevented him from doing so, they'd find themselves beamed down on the most horrendous away mission he could find. After all, they weren't too far from that disgusting rainforest planet with the mucous slugs, were they?

 

Pavel hadn't moved in the hour since he finished talking on the comm with his husband, lying in their shared bed with his arm curled around his newborn son. Robbie had fussed a little, but he'd drifted back to sleep, and Pavel knew that he should be resting with him. He was still recovering, and he had yet to sleep for more than three hours since Robbie was born, but as exhausted as he was, sleep wouldn't come.

Picking up his comm, he froze for a moment as he thought of whose company he wanted right now. He needed Monty, that was undeniable, but he couldn't have him. Staring down at his son, he sighed softly before speaking into the communicator.

"Leonard, it is Pavel, can...can you come to my quarters please?"

"Is everything okay, kid? What's wrong?" came the gruff reply.

"Nothing...I...if you are not busy, I..." he found himself getting choked up again, cursing the crushing excess of emotion he couldn't fight out from underneath.

Luckily for him, McCoy not only knew Pavel, but the effects of postpartum blues. Even in normal cases it could be devastating, but for a male to go through it was something he'd been worried about for a while now.

"I'll be right there," McCoy said, standing up from his desk and going over to get a hypo as well as a dose of mild sedative and a pain killer. The boy had just had his stomach sliced open, after all, the chances of him feeling some pain from it still were high. "Sit tight, kid."

It didn't take long form him to get to the Scott quarters, he'd walked the route dozens of times while caring for Pavel over the last few months. He'd given the kid a lot of attention, and not just because of his unique condition, but because there were few people that he cared for as much as Pavel, and the new baby McCoy had helped bring into the world. He was still honoured that Pavel had chosen him to be a godfather to Robbie, though he would have loved the boy just as much without that title.

Entering the code to open the door, he stepped inside and walked straight for the bedroom, the only place he thought Pavel could possibly be.

"How are you both holding up?" McCoy asked, a doctor first and a friend second, walking over to the bed. "Is he eating and eliminating like we talked about? How's he sleeping?"

He'd examined Robbie only the day before and found the baby to be in perfect health, but he figured it didn't hurt to ask.

"He is good...he is perfect, he eats four to five ounces at each feeding, and he is going in his diaper," Pavel said softly, looking down at his son. "He slept for almost four hours straight last night, that is the longest he has slept so far."

"Good, good..." McCoy said, leaning over Pavel and reaching down to brush his finger against Robbie's cheek. It felt warm, but not too warm, obviously he didn't have a fever. "Now...what about you?"

As McCoy expected, Pavel seemed much less eager to talk about himself than he was his son.

"...I...I do not know how to explain, I..." Pavel began, his voice wavering. "I am scared...I...everything makes me want to cry, I can not stop, I...I feel like a lost child..."

His voice broke as he fought back tears again. He didn't want to admit to how he was feeling, he was afraid that he was going to be a terrible father, he was already overwhelmed and frustrated and this was only his first day alone with Robbie. He had many more to come, and the thought filled him with dread.

"They're called postpartum blues, and they're very normal, I assure you," McCoy said, taking a seat on the bed, resting his hand on Pavel's shoulder. "About four out of five people experience it after giving birth, and it won't last forever. It's going to take you some time for your hormones to balance out and until then...you're going to be a bit of a mess, kid, I'm sorry, this isn't like depression, there's nothing I can give you."

"I do not want to be a mess, I want to be good at this..." Pavel sniffed, looking down at his son, unable to meet McCoy's eyes. "Monty says I will be, and he is expecting me to be, and...I am seventeen, Leonard, and until now I did not feel it so much..."

McCoy sighed softly as Pavel dissolved into tears again. It was obvious that he was exhausted, his eyes were dull and half-lidded, but his anxiety was keeping him awake. Part of McCoy wanted to go down to Engineering and ream Scotty out for going back to work and leaving Pavel alone, though he sincerely doubted that the man chose to leave his infant son and young husband alone. He didn't always think that Scotty had his head screwed on quite right, but he couldn't doubt that he loved Pavel and Robbie very much.

"Kid...Pavel..." McCoy took a deep breath, not giving his choice of action a second thought, lest he reconsider, as he lay down on the bed beside his friend, pulling the crying boy against his chest. "You're not going to mess this up, this is going to pass, and you're going to be a great father. People your age have been parents before, and they didn't have half the brains or support you do, Pavel. Trust me, you're doing a fantastic job, Robbie's lucky to have you."

He knew he should probably feel awkward spooning someone else's husband like this, but McCoy felt comfortable with his arms around Pavel, reaching over him to put his hand on Robbie. He hated to admit to himself that this felt right, that he wished that this was his family in his arms, there for him every day when he came home from work instead of silent pictures of a daughter who would grow up without him and a bottle of whatever he could find.

"I wish I had your confidence in me..." Pavel whispered after a few minutes of silence, relaxing in McCoy's arms. "I love him, Leonard, I knew that I would but this is more than...this is overwhelming..."

"I know that feeling, and that one's not going to go away," McCoy replied softly. "You're going to be as crazy about that boy for the rest of your life, and that's why you're going to be an excellent father. No parent is perfect, Pavel, but I know you love him enough to to your best, and that's all anyone can ever ask from you."

Pavel sniffed softly, looking down at his son as he nodded.

"Thank you..." he whispered.

"No need to thank me," Leonard said, fighting the urge to press a kiss into Pavel's curls as he rested his nose against the back of the boy's head. "Just get some rest, I'm not going anywhere..."

Pavel didn't reply with any more than a soft whimper and a sniff, drifting off in in McCoy's arms within a few minutes, comforted enough by the man's words and presence to let himself finally relax. It wasn't until he knew for a fact that Pavel was fast asleep that he gave in to temptation, kissing one of the soft curls in front of his lips. He didn't pull away, resting his lips against Pavel's head as he held him and his godson close, trying to forget for the moment that Scotty was even in the picture.

The sound of Robbie fussing broke McCoy out of his reverie, his grip on the baby's side moving to rub the little bundle gently as he sat up. Pavel was still asleep, which was something he didn't want to change, and he was more than capable of looking after a baby by himself. He knew how to replicate a bottle, change a diaper, and deal with some general fussiness, and to be honest, he missed doing those things. Having a godson to look after now was something he was thankful for, having a new child in his life, one he was allowed to be close to, and Pavel wasn't going to yank this one away from him.

"I got you..." McCoy said softly, scooping the boy up carefully as the fussing gave way to hungry grunting. "Huh, there's the Scotty in you right there..."

He knew he shouldn't badmouth the kid's father in front of him, but it's not like Robbie was going to be repeating anything anytime soon. Laying the baby down, McCoy gave him a quick diaper change, pausing to check his umbilical cord before redressing him. As it had the day before, everything looked great, and he assumed it would when he peeked in on him again tomorrow. It wasn't like he had anything else going on in his life at the moment, nothing horrendously positive anyway.

"Uncle Leonard's here..." McCoy cooed as he wrapped Robbie in his blanket, standing up and walking over to the replicator. "You must be a hungry little man, you're getting big, you need a big manly meal. Too bad you don't have the teeth for steak yet, I wouldn't mind one of those about now. There's a few things I wouldn't mind that you can't have."

He took the bottle from the replicator, testing the cap and temperature even though he was certain he didn't need to, before adjusting the baby in his arm, putting the nipple in his mouth.

"There you go...drink up..." he smiled as Robbie began to suckle, looking into the grey-blue eyes that stared back at him. As much as Pavel insisted that Robbie looked like Scotty, it was easy to see both of them in him. "Good boy, good Robbie..."

McCoy walked over to the recliner, sitting back in it as he watched Robbie drink, his eyes slowly sliding closed as the last ounce drained from the bottle. That was the fun with newborns, feed them and they generally pass out again, he remembered wishing the same trick worked with two year olds more than once with Joanna.

"Uncle Leonard loves you, Robbie," McCoy whispered, cradling Robbie close as he leaned back to get comfortable. "Whenever you need anything, or you're in trouble, or something's bothering you and you can't go to your fathers, I'll be there for you. That's what I'm for. I'm the guy who loves you but won't punish you."

He wasn't sure how long he'd sat there with Robbie, staring down at his sweet sleeping face, before he drifted off. He hadn't meant to, it had kind of snuck up on him, and the familiar feeling of a baby on his arm was a comfort. He wasn't sure what time it was when he woke to the sound of the doors opening behind him, and though he was confused to where he was, he was immediately aware of the baby in his arms.

"Hello?" McCoy called, sitting up, drawing Robbie closer.

"Hello, what are y-oh, Pasha must have called you, sorry, long day," Scotty said, walking through the apartment to the little living room area where McCoy sat, immediately smiling at the sight of his son in the other man's arms. "And how was my wee boy? I missed him."

"Robbie's perfect, had a bottle and he's been asleep for hours," McCoy replied, reluctantly turning Robbie over to his father, who was more than happy to see him. "He's a good baby, you're lucky."

It wasn't the only reason McCoy counted Scotty as lucky, but it wasn't anything he was about to admit to at the moment. He watched as Scotty fussed over Robbie, raining kisses all over his forehead as he apologized for being gone so long.

"What about Pavel, is he alright?" Scotty asked after a minute, looking up at McCoy with a frown. "He was so upset earlier, I felt awful leaving him, I'm glad he called you though. I'm not sure why, but he's been...is he really okay?"

"Pavel's...he's got a case of what's called the postpartum blues, a hell of one at that," McCoy said with a sigh. "He really shouldn't..."

McCoy paused, trying to decide what kind of person he was. If Scotty was at work, he could come by and spend time with Pavel and Robbie himself, spend some more quality time with them alone. It wasn't that he hated Scotty, but the two of them butted heads enough that McCoy could never guarantee peace between them. At the same time, he couldn't fight the little voice in his head that told him this wasn't his family, and he was no replacement for Scotty when it came to getting Pavel through this, or soothing Robbie.

"I'm going to talk to Jim, recommend that you take more time off, for Pavel's sake," McCoy said, hating himself despite knowing he was doing the right thing. He was certain he would have hated himself despite what decision he made on this one. "He can't be alone, he needs...he needs you."

"I didn't want to leave him today, I knew it was too soon, an-" Scotty began, the heavy feeling of guilt twisting his stomach again as he hugged his son closer.

McCoy put up a hand to stop him, nodding a little.

"Yeah, didn't think so," he said, sounding shorter than he'd meant to. "No one doubts that you love them, Scotty, so...I'll put in the report now, don't bother reporting for your shift in the morning."

"Thank you, Leonard," Scotty said, relieved both because he didn't come off as a jerk who put work before family, and because he'd get more time alone with his husband and new son. "For that, and for coming by to help Pasha out. I know he's grateful to have you in his and Robbie's lives."

"You're welcome," McCoy smiled flatly, nodded again and giving Scotty a half wave as he headed for the door. "Take care of those two, I'll be by tomorrow to check in on them. Good night, Scotty."

"Good night, Leonard, thank you again," Scotty replied, disappearing into his bedroom with Robbie still in his arms as McCoy left his quarters. He'd been apart from Pavel all day, he felt like if he didn't see him, he'd lose his mind. Their little family was only apart for a handful of hours, and he'd felt it, it was time for them to be reunited.

McCoy had seen Scotty go into his bedroom out of the corner of his vision as he stepped out into the hall, the doors closing behind him to block out what he assumed was going to be a happy little moment between Pavel, Scotty, and Robbie. He had no right to look in on it anyway, not that he would want to. Heading down to his office, McCoy felt the familiar knot in his stomach again, hoping that the warm burn of bourbon could untie it, or at least numb it. First, he had a report to finish though, he had to do his job, it wad the one thing he really had going for him in his life that was undoubtedly his. Pavel needed his husband, Robbie needed his father, and as much as it killed him, he wasn't going to keep Scotty from either of them.

As he finished writing out the report, it occurred to McCoy for a brief moment that he would probably actually like Scotty if he wasn't so goddamn jealous of him.


End file.
